Title: Quiet Light
Author: John Sexton
Published by: Little, Brown and Company ,1990
I bet, if you are a landscape photographer , especially Ansel Adams fan you will know John Sexton’s name. He was Ansel Adams’s photographic and technical assistant. Today, I will do another review in my series, Photographer’s Library, on his book Quiet Light. Sexton himself described his photographs as quieter and more intimate. And this book feels less interested in the monumental landscape than Adams often was.
The book
This book , first published in 1990 summarising fifteen years of Sexton’s black-and-white work and contains 51 photographs, mostly made in the American landscape. What makes the book particularly appealing is its attention to light rather than spectacle. The title refers to the soft illumination around dawn and dusk, and many of the photographs seem to exist in that brief period when the landscape is neither dramatic nor completely ordinary. Rocks, trees, water, snow and mist become almost abstract through careful control of tone and exposure
The book demonstrates how powerful a photograph can be when the photographer doesn’t chase drama, but instead pays attention to atmosphere, timing and subtle changes in light. Sexton’s photographs feel carefully made without feeling overly constructed. Technically, the photographs are superb. Sexton was a master of large-format photography and printing, and the book was produced using laser-scanned duotone reproductions. There is a wonderful depth to the blacks and greys, with highlights that feel luminous rather than simply bright.
So, as a conclusion, what’s my verdict?
As Iam getting older , I appreciate “quiet” photography a lot more. For me Quiet Light is really a book about patience. It is about being somewhere long enough for the landscape to reveal itself, and having the discipline to photograph what is actually there rather than forcing a spectacular image. That quiet approach is what gives Sexton’s work its lasting appeal.
A beautiful and highly influential large-format landscape book—particularly recommended for anyone interested in black-and-white film, the Zone System, fine printing and the poetry of subdued natural light.
Here is the previous book review